I thought the little brown dot on my face was a sign of ageing – then I was diagnosed with cancer [Video]

03:13 EDT 10 Mar 2024 , updated 08:18 EDT 10 Mar 2024

A mother-of-three is urging others to be diligent with skin checks after a small brown spot on her cheek turned out to be cancerous.

Catherine Smartt’s life was turned upside down after being diagnosed with stage 1 skin cancer on January 29.

The 40-year-old from Geelong told FEMAIL she first noticed ‘two little dots’ in October 2022 which looked like a ‘pigmentation spot’. When she fell pregnant in January 2023 doctors initially thought the dot was due to ‘hormonal changes’.

But over time it changed and grew in size but didn’t look like a ‘cliché’ melanoma – it wasn’t dark, there was no lump and the texture felt ‘rough’. 

During her pregnancy last year she watched The Kardashians regularly and coincidentally Khloe spoke about her own melanoma, which prompted Catherine to be more alert.